


And Be With Me For Evermore

by IsabelArmuelles



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Vampires, but like they’re vampires so u get it, jaehyun is dumb, mark is tired of it, markjae nation RISE, these tags are horrible pls bear with me, they’re in love what’s new, they’re vampires that can actually be under the sun, thought i’d Mention that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 15:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18472231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelArmuelles/pseuds/IsabelArmuelles
Summary: Jaehyun still remembered when he first met Mark.Mark had been, as Jaehyun liked to call it, the biggest miracle to ever happen to him.





	And Be With Me For Evermore

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i wrote this in a few hours bc i was in my Markjae feels and i remembered that i became a Markjae supremacist on twt for an entire day so-
> 
> yeah lmao
> 
> also english is not my first language so pls be gentle!!!
> 
> anyway,,, enjoy!!!!!

Jaehyun still remembered when he first met Mark.

It was back in 2001, around the time Destiny's Child dropped 'Bootylicious'. Jaehyun called it the best event that had happened during the time of Mark's new 'birth', and teased the younger by singing the lyrics to the iconic song, something Mark found genuinely annoying, but he never actually told Jaehyun to shut up, so Jaehyun considered it a win in his books.

Back then, Jaehyun had already been around for a bit longer than a century. He'd met countless of people, worked multiple jobs,- not because he needed to, but because he enjoyed staying active and talking to people,- and traveled through numerous countries.

But still, like any other immortal,- and a very dead one at that,- he felt lonely, the fact that he outlived everyone he met was enough to dampen his spirits from time to time. Sometimes, when he was alone at home,- be it an apartment, a trailer, or even a tent big enough for him (he enjoyed changing scenery every once in a while),- he would feel a heaviness on his chest, a constant reminder that no one else would be in the long run with him, that after a few years his friends would age and have families and die, while Jaehyun had to stay as a twenty-one year old guy for the rest of eternity.

Mark had been, as Jaehyun liked to call it, the biggest miracle to ever happen to him.

Jaehyun recalled having to go buy groceries that day. He had invited a few friends over, and the humans basically raided his entire kitchen. He wasn't mad though, they seemed content and full, so Jaehyun took it as a small chance to feed himself enough to last him a couple of months. 

Something he learned from another vampire back in the 80's, was to always carry syringes with him. Jaehyun had worked as a paramedic during the 60's, so he knew how to find a human's pulse point and not harm them in any way. Still, the small tip stuck with him, and whenever he had the opportunity, he would make the human fall in a trance long enough for him to take a pint of blood.

The guilt of doing this wore off around the sixth time, since he knew no harm was done to the human. He needed it to survive, and he preferred this safe practice over aggressively attacking unsuspecting humans in the dead of night. He still had morals, for fuck's sake.

That day he decided against riding his beat up motorbike,- something he won from a poker game against some very drunk bikers a couple of years back,- walking the fifteen minutes to his nearest convenience store. He had a mental list of things his human friends liked, plus some extra snacks they recommended to him. Obviously he couldn't eat them, not fully, but popping one or two chips into his mouth just to enjoy the flavour seemed to do the trick for him. The store was just a little out of his way, but the scenery and night life made up for it completely. Only this time, he didn't even make it halfway there.

Loud sniffles made him stop dead in his tracks. The sound echoed against the narrow walls of an alleyway between two run down buildings, badly illuminated by the light of the nearest lamppost.

Jaehyun was intrigued, to say the least. He slowly walked towards the sound, dodging trash bags and careful not to step on the cups and soda cans strewn across the pavement.

There, right beside a trash bin and an open bag of empty bottles, was a small figure, crouched down and sobbing into their hands. Jaehyun took a step further into the figure's direction, the scrape of his sneakers against the pavement loud enough to alert the person of his presence.

Said person snapped their head up, fear clouding their expression, red eyes wide in terror, staring right at Jaehyun.

Oh.

"D-don't come closer." the person,- a young boy, Jaehyun noted,- weakly threatened, raising what seemed like a bloody hand blade towards Jaehyun. Jaehyun knew that he should be the one to remain calm in this sort of situation, any harsh movement could possibly startle the other and make matters worse, so Jaehyun slowly crouched down, with his hands raised up to his head, until he was kneeling a few feet away from the boy.

"Hey," He spoke softly, trying to give the other a reassuring smile, "I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry."

The boy's hand that was holding the blade shook just as much as the rest of his body, but he still held his posture. The frown on his face deepened, impossibly so. "I don't trust you." He mused, voice shaky but clear enough for Jaehyun to hear. The boy took a sharp breath and spoke again. "You don't have a- a heartbeat."

"Neither do you." Jaehyun softly replied, getting more comfortable on the dirty floor. The boy's movements faltered, the blade lowering just the slightest bit.

Jaehyun allowed his eyes to roam over the boy. His yellow graphic shirt was stained with blood over one of his shoulders, and the front was covered with big splotches too. He noticed two aggressively red holes on his neck. Bite marks.

"My name is Jaehyun. Nice to meet you." Jaehyun said after a few moments of silence had passed, his tone the sweetest he could muster. He tried to keep eye contact with the other, his face schooled into a small smile, trying to keep him calm. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"Why should I do that?" The boy snarled, holding the blade tighter. Jaehyun sighed. Clearly the boy wasn't going to let down his guard anytime soon. Jaehyun opted for his second option: empathy.

"Because I want to help you. I know you're scared," He ever so slightly scooted closer to the boy. "I've been there myself."

"So you're just like the asshole that attacked me?" The boy growled, eyes glowing red and fangs roughly digging into his bottom lip, drawing out thick, dark blood. "You're one of them, right?"

"I don't know who's 'them'." Jaehyun's voice was steady, calm.

"Them! A vampire! You're one of them too!" The blade shook in the boys hand. The boy clearly knew a bit about pop culture, with all the movies about bloodsuckers and whatnot. At least he had the general idea of it, but he clearly had a negative view of things, much expected from humans. His hold on the knife was extremely tight, his knuckles turning white and his thumb digging into the side of the blade. Jaehyun could see a few drops of blood running down the boy's hand.

"Kid, you're hurting yourself. Stop." In a matter of seconds, Jaehyun reached out to take the knife from the boy's hand, the palm of his own hand nearly coming into contact with the sharp edge of the blade. Still, he plucked it out of the boy's hand and threw it off to the side, then taking a hold of the boy's shaking wrist. Soon enough, the boy began to hyperventilate, hot tears streaming down his face.

Jaehyun moved quickly, sitting down beside the boy and holding him tightly, his arm over the younger's shoulders. He carefully ran his hand over the other's hair, softly caressing his messy locks to calm him down.

He allowed the boy to sob into his chest, his shaky breathes hitting Jaehyun. He knew how scary this could be, how from a moment to another your body would feel weird, your normal warmth completely gone, the sometimes comforting beating of your heart being silent. The sudden heightened sense of smell. Being able to hear a pin drop, even in the loudness of an awake city.

Jaehyun had felt all of that many decades ago. He knew what it was like.

"It's okay, you'll be okay." Jaehyun comforted, feeling the boy's hold tighten. The stench of the alleyway threatened his nostrils, and the smell of drying vampire blood did nothing but worsen the mix, but Jaehyun decided to ignore it altogether, in hopes of helping the boy out. 

"I ran away," the boy began once he had calmed down enough that his breaths weren't as elaborate as before, "from home. A week ago. I-I've been trying to find a place to stay. It's hard, you know? Being nineteen and trying to survive on your own i-in a place you don't know." Jaehyun nodded. He'd been nineteen too, but that was so long ago, he barely remembered what it was like back then. "I was walking back to my place, an abandoned house I share with these two guys,- they're junkies, but they mean well,- when suddenly-"

Jaehyun allowed the boy to hide his face in the space between his shoulder and neck when he felt his resolve falter. He waited a few moments until the other was ready to continue. "Some guy pulled me into this alleyway. His eyes were red, and I- I was so scared." he held tightly onto Jaehyun, his hands bunching up the material of Jaehyun's shirt. "He just... attacked me. Teeth and all. It took me a moment to remember the knife I carried around in my pocket, but when I finally held it I tried to put up a fight."

"Let me guess. You stabbed him while he bit you." Jaehyun supplied, earning a nod from the boy.

"Last thing I remember was him growling and... and slashing my neck." His voice wavered, and Jaehyun felt his fists tighten. That meant the other vampire's blood had gotten inside the boy's wound. It was the reason behind him turning. "Then I woke up, and everything felt too overwhelming at once." The boy lifted his head, finally making eye contact with Jaehyun. It broke his heart to witness the pain, the fear behind the boy's still glowing eyes. "I couldn't feel my pulse. People's footsteps were too loud. I didn't know what to do."

Tears welled up in his eyes again, and Jaehyun knew right then that he would do anything in his power not to see the other cry.

"I don't know what to do."

"Let me help you." Jaehyun offered, raising his hand to wiped the boy's tears with his thumb. He ended up smudging a bit of blood on his face.

"I don't think I should trust you." The boy had the audacity to say, still in Jaehyun's embrace. He was clearly joking, by the way the corners of his mouth turned upwards slightly, but Jaehyun let his jaw drop comically, carrying on with the joke.

"What? After I took my time to listen to you and help you calm down?" Jaehyun scoffed. "Kids these days are so disrespectful. This wouldn't have happened back in the 50's."

The boy laughed lightheartedly, his eyes turning into small crescents and his nose scrunching up adorably. Jaehuyn smiled at the sight.

"All jokes aside, I know you need help. I know what it's like. At least you didn't wake up under rubble from an old building."

The boy's eyes sparkled in interest at that. Jaehyun chuckled.

"I'll tell you if you come with me. I think you need an urgent change of clothes, uh..."

"Mark. My name is Mark."

Jaehyun smiled. "Nice to meet you, Mark."

And after that, they'd hit it off right away.

Jaehyun knew their first meeting wasn't the prettiest, but he cherished every moment of it. Mark had been his best friend for almost two decades now, and Jaehyun would be lying to himself if he didn't admit all those years harbored a small crush on the other.

Still, he tried his best to keep it on the down low. Key word being 'tried'.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mark said from his spot atop the hood of their run down car. He had a can of,- probably warm,- soda in his hand (mixed with a bit of blood, he assumed, "like a cocktail, Jae"), one eyebrow raised at Jaehyun. The older gulped.

"Nothing, just enjoying the view." Mark didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push any further.

It wasn't a complete lie. Their latest plans of traveling by car across the country were in progress. Mark had pouted up at Jaehyun for a good half an hour before the older's resolve broke, as it always did. He couldn't really say no to Mark, not when he stared up at him with those pretty big eyes and that adorable pout that made him weak in the knees. Not even two days after Mark's suggestion and puppy face, they had climbed inside their car with all of their belongings and left town without looking back.

Jaehyun's light travel tendencies had rubbed off on Mark, so they always carried around two simple bags each where they kept their most prized possessions and a few changes of clothes. Things like a small scrapbook from their time in the early 2000's and Mark's old gameboy were a few of the things they decided to keep around, things that took little space but had a lot of emotional value.

The car was parked on a hill, the ocean a few hundred miles from them. Jaehyun had promised Mark they would go to the beach during their trip, maybe take some pictures and borrow surfboards so he could teach Mark how to surf, something Jaehyun had wanted to do for years now.

"I can't believe we're finally going to the beach. I haven't been in ages." Mark said, staring out to the horizon, as if reading Jaehyun's mind. 

"Ages? Mark, you're literally like thirty-seven, you baby." Jaehyun teased, earing a flick on the forehead form the younger.

"Yeah, and you're around a hundred-and-some-shit years old, you grandpa." Mark shot back, sticking his tongue out at Jaehyun like the absolute child he was. Jaehyun couldn't even argue with him, so he just laughed and playfully pushed him, barely moving him at all.

Things were like that between them. A little bit of teasing here and there, some heartfelt conversations, and a lot of trust and love.

Jaehyun felt a bit selfish for wanting more of it, though. Having Mark in his life was enough, and the younger made him the happiest he'd ever been, but in those moments late at night, where they would sleep in the same room but in different beds, he wished he could be able to hold Mark the way he wanted to.

But there was too much at stake. Mark was his best friend, and the thought of losing his new life time companion made his chest tighten uncomfortably. After spending so many years alone, he couldn't bear to lose the person he loved the most, all because he had stupidly fallen in love with them.

"Jae, I can actually hear your brain turning into mush." Mark called out after a few minutes of silence. He knew Jaehyun so well, like the palm if his hand. Jaehyun gulped.

"It's really nothing-"

Mark huffed, interrupting him. He scooted over to the edge of the car's hood, and pulled Jaehyun by the arm so he would be settled in between Mark's legs. The new position didn't help to calm Jaehyun's nerves at all, and he knew that if he still had a heartbeat it would be fast and loud against his chest.

Placing the half empty can of coke to the side, Mark reached out to grab Jaehyun's face between his hands. The contact was welcomed by the older, and he absentmindedly closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling of being this close to Mark.

Oh, how badly he wanted things to be different, to be able to reach forward just a bit and connect his lips to Mark's.

But he clearly couldn't, so he opened his eyes and forced himself to detach from Mark, before he did something he regretted.

Only Mark didn't let him.

The younger noticed Jaehyun started pulling away, so he moved quickly and wrapped his legs around Jaehyun's waist, trapping him in his hold.

"Don't..." Mark began, voice wavering slightly, eyes searching for Jaehyun's. "Don't pull away. You always do that."

A look of confusion crossed Jaehyun's features. "What?"

Mark sighed. "I can see you trying to convince yourself to pull away each time. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"I don't know what you're-"

"I know you, Jae." Mark stated, shutting Jaehyun up. "I know how your mind works, and I know you always force yourself to pull away from me at the last minute, and I'm tired." He carefully reached out for Jaehyun's hands, holding them in his own lovingly. "You talk in your sleep, you know? It's something I've never told you because you somehow developed it a few years back, and I find it really adorable." He confessed, squeezing Jaehyun's hands when he noticed the older's eyes widen. "Sometimes you mumble incoherent thing, sometimes it's just small words, and other's it's full sentences without context. I find it endearing, somehow."

"W-why are you telling me this?"

"Recently you've been calling out my name a lot. You say things like 'Markie, hey' or 'you're so cute, Mark', and it makes me feel so happy and warm. But then when you're awake and we're close like this, something in your eyes just snaps and you back away and pretend it never happened. I don't like that Jae. Stop pulling away from me."

Jaehyun stayed silent for a while, letting Mark's words sink in. He felt like a bomb had been dropped on him, just like it did back in the turn of the twentieth century, when he had recently been turned and ended up surviving a grenade explosion. Back then, he was completely unaware of the situation, just like right now, even if it were two different things. 

Why had Mark decided against telling him about his sleeptalking? Oh, the amount of embarrassing things he could've saved himself from. And he talked about Mark, of all things. He wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

And how did Mark know what went through his head? Was he really that easy to read? Was he really that predictable? 

And on top of everything else, why did Mark not want him to pull away?

"I don't want to ruin what we have," He ended up saying after a few minutes of complete silence. "I don't want our friendship to change just because I'm being stupid."

Mark scoffed, pushing Jaehyun back and untangling his legs from around his waist. Jaehyun suddenly missed the feeling.

Hopping off the hood of the car, Mark grabbed his coke can and chugged down the remaining liquid. He crushed it between his hands, flattening it completely, and threw it inside the car, landing somewhere in the backseat.

"You know, for someone so old, you sure ain't wise at all."

Jaehyun didn't know how to feel at that. He supposed 'insulted' should've been the right feeling.

"What about what I want? What if I want this to be more than friendship, too? Would you still pull back?" Mark asked, raising his voice with every sentence. "You've confessed to me in your sleep before, and I thought that maybe you'd do it while awake, too. But you always cower away, so I thought what you dreamt was only nonsense. You don't know how many nights I've spent awake, thinking of how different things would be if you just- if you just-"

A sob escaped Mark's lips, one painfully similar to the one Jaehyun had heard all those years ago, when they first met. Only this time, Jaehyun was the reason behind it. It was his fault.

He took a tentative step towards Mark, and slowly embraced him, letting the younger hide his face on the crook of Jaehyun's neck. He caressed his back gently, letting all his pent up emotions just flow out in the form of tears. It felt like 2001 all over again, as Mark trembled in his hold like an older version,- mentally, not physically,- of that scared boy in an alleyway.

"Are you sure, Markie? Are you sure you want things to change between us?" Jaehyun asked, voice barely above a whisper. Mark's sobs turned into silent whimpers, and he nodded against Jaehyun's neck.

"More than anything."

Jaehyun placed a small kiss against Mark's temple, and the younger let out a content sigh. They stayed like that for a while longer, in each other's embrace, enjoying the way the sun hit softly against their cold skin and the breeze atop the hill messed up their hair, strands blowing in the wind.

"Don't hold back, Jae." Mark whispered, detaching himself a bit from the older to look into his eyes. Jaehyun could see some tears still threatening to spill from Mark's eyes, so he reached up and wiped them away lovingly, letting his hands linger on the younger's cheeks. They held each other's gaze for a moment, before Mark pouted. "Kiss me."

And how could Jaehyun say no?

He quickly closed the distance between them, and sighed in contentment when he finally locked lips with Mark. Jaehyun tried to convey all those years he spent pining after Mark into the kiss, tried to apologize for all those times he pulled away by letting the younger slip his tongue into his mouth. He kissed him lovingly and passionately, his hands cradling Mark's face as he deepened the kiss.

After what felt like forever they finally pulled away, lips spit-slicked and parted. Mark looked up at him, completely in a daze, before smiling so brightly at him that the only comparison Jaehyun's brain could make at the moment was of a lighthouse illuminating the dark ocean for boats to know their way back home.

And in all honestly, Mark was Jaehyun's home. His lifetime companion, now turned lover. There was really no one Jaehyun would've wanted to spend his eternal life with other than Mark.

"Oh my god, I love you so much." Jaehyun mused, making Mark laugh.

"You fucking cheeseball." He joked, slapping Jaehyun's chest playfully.

"You wanted me not to hold back? This is me not holding back." He said before attacking Mark's face with tons of kisses, while the younger laughed and tried to wiggle away from his hold.

"I take it back!"

"No takebacks, Markie!"

After another hour of shared kisses and messing around, running down the hill and rolling in the grass,- which resulted in a very heated make out session,- they finally got back inside the car and onto the main road to continue their trip towards the beach.

Mark played around with the radio, searching for decent radio stations that played soft music, while Jaehyun drove them, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding tightly onto Mark's own. Suddenly a song started playing, and both their eyes widened.

"Oh no-"

"Babe! Your birth song!" Jaehyun practically screeched, swatting Mark's hands away from the radio when he tried to change the station.

"I hate you so much." Mark sighed defeated, slumping back down on his seat. He took Jaehyun's hand again and started playing with his fingers.

"Well, I love you, more than anything." Jaehyun stated, smiling widely to let his dimples show. Mark leaned in and pecked his cheek.

"I know. I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to Jax (@xiaobrows on twt) for being my beta and pointing out that vampires can't actually be under the sun sjsndk
> 
> you can talk to me on twt @IsabelArmuelles ,,,, gimme those good ol' vamp facts
> 
> thanks for reading!!!!


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